Christchurch council said it couldn't insulate its flat - so Lynda McKenzie got it done herself

Monday, 23 July 2018

Christchurch City Council said it couldn't be done - so this social housing tenant took matters into her own hands.

The Christchurch City Council may run foul of the law by maintaining some of its flats cannot be insulated – despite a resident doing the job herself.

Ceiling and underfloor insulation has been a legal requirement in social housing since July 2016. All rental properties will require floor and ceiling insulation from July 1 next year.

The requirements were not lost on Lynda McKenzie, 67, who was told about two years ago it was not possible to insulate the ceiling of her council flat in Pickering Courts, St Albans.

At least, it was not possible until she got the work done herself.

* Warmer Kiwi Homes insulation programme will make 52,000 homes warmer over four years

* Asbestos-ridden council flats remain unoccupied, 18 months after contamination discovery

* Christchurch housing trust gears up to build 400 new affordable homes

* Christchurch City Council buys Linwood temporary housing village off Government**

When contacted by Stuff, council head of facilities, property and planning Angus Smith said the complex's sloping roofs had exposed rafters and no space for insulation.

But when Stuff visited McKenzie's upstairs unit on Friday, a freshly-cut manhole opened to reveal a warm, newly insulated ceiling space.

Her employer and a contractor had covered the cost. McKenzie noticed a 'huge' difference to the warmth of her once cold flat.

Lynda McKenzie didn't believe the Christchurch City Council when she was told her flat couldn't be insulated, so she got it done herself.

'I've spoken [to my neighbours] … they think it's wonderful [that it's been insulated] and they're hoping they'll be able to get theirs done, because it is the law nowadays.'

McKenzie said she believed having her ceiling insulated showed the council – either knowingly or mistakenly – was breaking the law.

Council staff visited the 25 units in her complex about two weeks after the 2016 legal requirement was introduced, before telling her the ceiling could not be insulated, she said.

'We were visited by two people … to say that it was impossible to do the ceiling or the floor, because the floor was concrete and the ceiling had no manhole.'

Now, her work suggested at least the nine remaining upstairs units may have appropriate roof space to make them warmer - but that they were currently insufficiently insulated.

The newly-insulated roof space at Lynda McKenzie's council flat.

Smith said the council was not breaching rental property standards as legislation allowed for exemptions in properties 'not reasonably practicable to insulate without substantial building work'.

However, all that was required to insulate McKenzie's ceiling was for a contractor to cut a square hole in her ceiling to make a manhole.

Smith said: '[The units] were not insulated as they are unable to be insulated … The units in this complex were assessed under council's current insulation programme.

'When it was found these units were unable to have insulation installed in them … council sought professional advice to upgrade to a cost-effective heating source for the units.'

Smith did not directly respond to questions about the fact that the flat had been insulated, despite the council's claims.

The council could be breaking the law by not insulating the ceilings at its Pickering Courts, St Albans complex.

A council spokeswoman later said staff would need to assess the flat before commenting on the new insulation, which required giving McKenzie 48 hours notice before being on site.

Have you had a similar experience at your social housing property? Email joel.ineson@stuff.co.nz

This is not the first time Pickering Courts residents have criticised the council and its property manager, the Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust, for providing what they believe to be inadequate housing.

In April, others complained of black mould and condensation covering surfaces in their homes.

McKenzie hopes the council will make amends by insulating her neighbours' homes, and any others that may be under-insulated.

Panel heaters were installed throughout the complex despite requests for heat pumps.

'Heat pumps are not provided by council,' Smith said.

'Tenants have the opportunity to apply for permission to install their own heat pumps.'

McKenzie hoped her situation would prompt the council to insulate other flats it owned.

Earlier this month, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods launched a $142 million insulation programme for home owners that aims to make 52,000 homes warmer over the next four years.

Landlords were not included as they were covered in previous initiatives.

'Low-income families, young children and older Kiwis are especially vulnerable to the impacts of living in cold, damp homes,' she said at the time.

'That's a huge personal cost to families but it also adds cost and pressure to the health system.'